BJP leader and former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar Sushil Kumar Modi said today that he has been battling cancer for the past six months. Mr Modi added that he will not be contesting in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
The absence of Mr Modi's name from the list of BJP candidates for the Rajya Sabha elections in February had sparked widespread speculations. Once considered a stalwart of the party, Mr Modi, 72, wielded significant influence over the BJP in Bihar for more than three decades.
"I have been battling cancer for the last 6 months. Now I feel that the time has come to tell people. I will not be able to do anything in the Lok Sabha elections. I have told everything to the PM. Always grateful and always dedicated to the country, Bihar and the party," Mr Modi posted on X.
Responding to the news, Mr Modi's friend and political rival Shivanand Tiwari hopes that the former's "fighting spirit will continue in the face of illness".
"Very saddened to hear the news of Sushil Modi's illness. Sushil is one of the trinity (Lalu Yadav, Nitish Kumar and Sushil Modi) born out of the Bihar movement of 1974. Be it the ruling party or the opposition, today the leadership of both is in the hands of this trinity. Lalu Yadav, Nitish Kumar and Sushil Modi all three emerged from the same movement and gradually they ousted the old generation of Bihar politics. The leadership of Bihar politics has been in the hands of these three for almost thirty years," said 81-year-old Mr Tiwari, former JDU and RJD leader.
"Sushil and I were together in Bankipur jail for almost three months and in the same cell. There have been sharp ideological differences between us. But despite everything, I maintain an affectionate relationship with him. We hope that his fighting spirit will continue even in the face of illness. Our best wishes and prayers are with him," he added.
Having served as the deputy to JDU chief and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for approximately 11 years, Mr Modi shares a longstanding camaraderie with him. Despite his health setback, the BJP has included him in its 27-member Election Manifesto Committee, headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Union Minister Piyush Goyal will serve as the convenor and co-convenors, respectively.
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